BETER BED HOLDING N.V. - Revenue decrease of 6.3% to € 168.7 million, mainly due to store closures.
- Recovery continues in second quarter:
- Like-for-like order intake Beter Bed Netherlands + 5.4%;
- Like-for-like revenue in Spain + 12.7%.
- Gross profit rises to 57.2%.
- Expenses down 3.5% to € 90.2 million.
- Operating profit € 6.4 million (H1 2013: € 8.1 million).
- Net profit € 4.9 million (H1 2013: € 5.4 million).
Key figures interim results
| (in millions of € unless stated otherwise) | 2014 H1 | 2013 H1 | Change |
| Revenue | 168.7 | 180.1 | (6.3%) |
| Gross profit (%) | 57.2 | 56.4 | |
| EBIT | 6.4 | 8.1 | (21.2%) |
| Net profit | 4.9 | 5.4 | (10.1%) |
| Earnings per share (in €) | 0.22 | 0.25 | (10.4%) |
| Operating cash flow | 10.5 | 11.9 | (11.8%) |
| 30-6-2014 | 30-6-2013 | ||
| Solvency (%) | 60.2 | 57.6 |
Ton Anbeek, Chief Executive Officer:
"Following a difficult start to the year due to the weak order intake during the Christmas period and lower-than-expected sales in January and February, we now see revenue, order intake and like-for-like growth developing positively in the Netherlands. The new advertising campaign, the more contemporaneous image of the Beter Bed stores and the growing consumer confidence are contributing greatly to this development. The market situation in Germany remained unchanged during the first half year of 2014, with the propensity to buy continuing to be low in the furniture segment (including mattresses). We were again able to largely compensate the decrease in revenue by means of margin improvements and effective cost control.
We see like-for-like revenue at Matratzen Concord Germany and Matratzen Concord Austria picking up in the third quarter. Like-for-like revenue remained stable in Switzerland, while the recovery in Spain is continuing. Like-for-like revenue in Belgium is also growing."
Key figures second quarter results
| (in millions of € unless stated otherwise) | 2014 Q2 | 2013 Q2 | Change |
| Revenue | 76.0 | 81.5 | (6.8%) |
| Gross profit (%) | 57.7 | 56.4 | |
| EBIT | 0.0 | 0.1 | |
| Net profit | 0.4 | (0.2) | |
Second quarter 2014
In the second quarter, revenue in comparable stores in Germany fell by 2.5%, whereas it increased by 3.5% in the Netherlands on the basis of order intake. Revenue in comparable stores decreased by 0.8% for the group as a whole in the second quarter. Excluding the revenue of the formulas set to be closed, Slaapgenoten and Matrassen Concord Belgium and Netherlands, revenue in comparable stores for the group decreased by 0.4% in the second quarter.
Total revenue fell by 6.8% to € 76.0 million in the second quarter. Gross profit, at 57.7%, improved in the second quarter of 2014 compared with the second quarter of 2013, partly due to improved purchasing terms, changes in the sales mix and the phasing out of the above-mentioned activities.
A cost reduction of 4.6% to € 43.8 million was achieved in the second quarter. This decrease, amounting to € 2.1 million, was mainly due to the closure of Slaapgenoten and Matrassen Concord stores in Belgium and the Netherlands and was partly offset by higher marketing expenditure and higher expenses for the online activities. In addition, an amount of € 0.6 million was released in the second quarter in connection with lower liabilities ensuing from employee stock options. Lastly, the second quarter of last year included non-recurring expenses of € 1 million for the closure of 32 stores in Spain. The average expenses (excl. DBC) per store fell by 0.1% in the second quarter.
The operating profit (EBIT) fell by € 0.1 million to € 0.0 million in the second quarter. Net profit for the second quarter 2014 amounted to € 0.4 million (second quarter 2013: net loss of € 0.2 million).
Owing to the seasonal pattern in consumer demand, revenue and net profit are usually lower in the second and third quarters than in the first and fourth quarters.
First half year 2014
Revenue for the first half year 2014 fell by 6.3% to € 168.7 million. Revenue in comparable stores fell by 2.6% in the first half year of 2014.
The movements in revenue for the first half year by country were as follows:
| Netherlands | -13.3% |
| Germany | -1.1% |
| Austria | -3.3% |
| Switzerland | -6.9% |
| Spain | -33.2% |
| Belgium | 31.1% |
The lower revenue in the Netherlands was partly due to the phased closure of the Slaapgenoten and Matrassen Concord Netherlands formulas in 2014. Excluding these formulas, revenue in the Netherlands decreased by 9.3% in the first half year 2014. The decrease in Spain is attributable in full to the closure of 32 stores of El Gigante del Colchón in 2013. The 31 Spanish stores remaining after the downsizing recorded revenue growth of 10.8%.
Gross profit as a percentage of revenue was 57.2% in the first half of the year, up from the same period of last year (H1 2013: 56.4%). The increase was partly due to improved purchasing terms and the phasing out of above-mentioned activities.
The average number of stores fell in the first half year of 2014 by 4.2% compared with the first half of 2013. Total expenses declined 3.5% from € 93.5 million to € 90.2 million in the first half year. This decrease is flatter than the decrease in percentage terms of the number of stores.
This is because the stores that were closed had a relatively low cost base. Moreover, marketing expenses rose in the first half year 2014. Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue for the first half year increased from 51.9% in 2013 to 53.5% in 2014.
Average expenses (excl. DBC) per store rose by 0.9% in the first half of 2014 owing to the fall in the number of stores and the increase in marketing expenses.
Operating profit (EBIT) fell by 21.2% to € 6.4 million in this period. Operating profit (EBIT) as a percentage of revenue declined from 4.5% to 3.8%.
The tax burden for the first half year fell from 29.6% to 21.3%. This was mainly due to the absence of foreign losses as well as lower results in combination with a tax facility in Germany.
Net profit for the first half year decreased by 10.1% from € 5.4 million to € 4.9 million. Earnings per share for the first half of 2014 were € 0.22 (first half of 2013: € 0.25).
Result of continuing operations
Revenue of Beter Bed Holding for the first half year, excluding the revenue of Slaapgenoten and Matrassen Concord Belgium and Netherlands, amounted to € 166.2 million, a decrease of 4.5% compared with the same period of last year.
Due to the closure of the onerous operations referred to above and the successful reorganisation of El Gigante del Colchón, some € 3.5 million of losses were eliminated compared with the same
period of last year.
This closure and restructuring operation will accordingly contribute to the quality of the results of Beter Bed Holding in the long term.
Investments and cash flow
Investments amounted to € 4.5 million in the first half of 2014 (first half of 2013: € 2.6 million). Investments in stores totalled € 3.7 million in the first half of 2014 (first half of 2013: € 2.0 million). The remaining amount was invested mainly in IT and to a lesser extent in other operating assets. The operating cash flow decreased by 11.8% from € 11.9 million in 2013 to € 10.5 million in 2014.
Financing
Solvency was 60.2% as at 30 June 2014, compared with 57.6% on 30 June 2013 and 56.6% at year-end 2013.
Operational
In the first half of 2014, 29 stores were opened and 55 stores were closed. The fall in the number of stores is mainly due to the decision taken at the start of this year to implement a phased closure of the Slaapgenoten and Matrassen Concord Belgium and Netherlands formulas. At the end of June 2014, the group had a total of 1,149 stores.
| Number of stores | 31-12-2013 | Closed | Opened | 30-6-2014 |
| Matratzen Concord | 1,002 | 42 | 19 | 979 |
| Beter Bed | 92 | 5 | 7 | 94 |
| El Gigante del Colchón | 31 | - | - | 31 |
| BeddenREUS | 40 | 5 | 3 | 38 |
| Slaapgenoten | 9 | 2 | - | 7 |
| Schlafberater.com | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| Total | 1,175 | 55 | 29 | 1,149 |
Matratzen Concord
| Number of stores | 31-12-2013 | Closed | Opened | 30-6-2014 |
| Germany | 864 | 20 | 14 | 858 |
| Netherlands | 18 | 15 | - | 3 |
| Austria | 64 | 1 | 3 | 66 |
| Switzerland | 51 | 1 | 2 | 52 |
| Belgium | 5 | 5 | - | - |
| Total | 1,002 | 42 | 19 | 979 |
Matratzen Concord
The revenue of the cash & carry formula Matratzen Concord for the first half of 2014 totalled € 112.7 million (66.8% of total group revenue). That is a decrease of 2.7% compared with the same period in 2013. Within the revenue of this formula, 85.1% is achieved in Germany and 14.9% in Austria and Switzerland. Revenue decreased by 2.5% in the comparable stores.
Beter Bed
This formula is active in the Netherlands and Belgium. The number of Beter Bed stores increased by two. Revenue decreased by 8.1% from € 47.9 million to € 44.0 million in the first half of 2014. Revenue in comparable stores fell by 1.6% in the first half of 2014. Beter Bed contributes 26.1% of total group revenue.
Other formulas
Revenue of the other formulas for the first half of 2014 was € 12.0 million, accounting for 7.1% of total group revenue. This includes the revenue of the retail formulas BeddenREUS (the Netherlands), Slaapgenoten (the Netherlands), El Gigante del Colchón (Spain) and the wholesaler DBC. Revenue of the other formulas for the first half of 2014 was therefore 26.8% lower than in the same period of last year.
Outlook for 2014
The cautious recovery of the Dutch economy identified in the second quarter is visibly continuing in the third quarter. The order portfolio at Beter Bed is clearly better filled than a year ago and like-for-like revenue is developing favourably. There is distinct like-for-like revenue growth in Belgium and Spain. From July, a recovery of like-for-like revenue has also been manifest in Germany and Austria.
Interim dividend
The company intends to distribute an interim dividend in 2014. As usual, further information will be provided on this upon the publication of the trading update on 30 October of this year.
Profile
Beter Bed Holding N.V. operates in the European bedroom furnishings market. Its activities include retail trade through a total of 1,149 stores at the end of June 2014 that operate via the chains Beter Bed (active in the Netherlands and Belgium), Matratzen Concord (active in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands), El Gigante del Colchón (active in Spain), and BeddenREUS and Slaapgenoten (both active in the Netherlands). Beter Bed Holding is also active in the field of developing and wholesaling branded products in the bedroom furnishing sector in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and the United Kingdom via its subsidiary DBC International. Beter Bed Holding N.V. achieved net revenue of € 357.4 million in 2013. More than 67% of the group's net revenue is realised outside the Netherlands. The company has been listed on Euronext Amsterdam since 1996 and is included in the Amsterdam Small Cap Index.
For more information:
| Ton Anbeek | Bart Koops |
| Chief Executive Officer | Chief Financial Officer |
| +31 (0)413 338819 | +31 (0)413 338819 |
| +31 (0)6 53662838 | +31 (0)6 46761405 |
| ton.anbeek@beterbed.nl: mailto:ton.anbeek@beterbed.nl | bart.koops@beterbed.nl: mailto:bart.koops@beterbed.nl |
Please click on the link below for the full version of the press release.
http://hugin.info/132850/R/1850423/646063.pdf
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Beter Bed Holding NV via Globenewswire
